Entries from Expedition Dispatches
Cold morning when we pulled out of our camp at 7 a.m. Not 30 minutes later did the sun start to warm our fingers and toes along with illuminating the glaciers of Salkantay while we climbed towards Incachiriaska Pass at 16,010ft.
The team is doing great after our seven-hour day. After the pass we walked through a beautiful valley filled with dry grasses and expansive boulder fields. We are camped in a small village (read 3-4 stone houses with thatch roofs) listening to the bleating of sheep and watching dogs heard the mix of horse, llama, sheep and pigs back to rustic stone corrals. We are settling into our tents and getting warm as the sun has already left our valley at 3 p.m. Tomorrow our horseman will depart the group as we enter the National Park. Porters will join us to continue the excellent meals and difficult but much appreciated job of carrying our camp towards Machu Picchu.
RMI Guide Mike King
The Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. RMI Guide Ben Liken Reported that the team was 100% to the summit today with a total round trip climb time of 11 hours. They plan to practice some crevasse rescue this afternoon back at Camp Schurman and then do a bit of training tomorrow morning before returning to Ashford Basecamp.
Congratulations to the Emmons Team!
Posted by: Leon Davis, Solveig Waterfall
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
RMI Guide Leon Davis and the Mt. Rainier Summit Climb teams checked in at 7:00 a.m. They were at 13,000' on their descent and Leon reported that it was really nice day on the mountain.
Posted by: Elias de Andres Martos, Eric Frank
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Peru Seminar
Elevation: 13,650'
And we are at Base Camp! The second day of the approach was incredible, as the scenery went from beautiful to dramatic... The climb up to Punta Union pass at 4750m greeted us with the views of Taulliraju, one of the most radical peaks in the range, with a sheer west face that made our jaws drop just thinking of how could it be even possible to climb. On the other side, Artesonraju, our objective reigned over the valley with its top amongst the clouds. Now it is time to spend some time acclimating, all while enjoying the comforts and gourmet food of camp.
Best regards,
RMI Guide ElÃas de Andres Martos and team
P.S. Rich wishes happy B-day to his wife Christina.
Hi Kim, WOW….Can’t wait to see the amazing photos! This climb sounds wonderful! We will be heading back home this evening from our terrific trip out West. We will continue to follow your progress. Love, Dad
Posted by: SHEL on 8/4/2016 at 8:10 am
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, JM Gorum
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Northside
Last night's sleep was refreshing for all, and everyone looked chipper as they sidled in to breakfast. That was good because we had a whirlwind day ahead of us. We headed over to the Resurrection Gate of Red Square to Victoria, our tour guide. After a slow start waiting in the queue to see a national treasure, Lenin's entombed body, things got going with a tour through St Basil's Cathedral, abyssal made up of 10 churches, all in the same foundation, and to the GUM, the large Soviet era department store that now carries the biggest brands (Prada, Gucci, Armani, etc.). We made a stop for ice cream, then cruised around the Kremlin wall to see the changing of the guards, and on in to the Kremlin, and more cathedrals. We closed the tour down with lunch at a delicious Ukrainian restaurant, and then into the afternoon to sort details and nap. Dinner at a restaurant in the nearby design and architecture school went long, but was delicious, and no one minded given the good company we are in. All in all, we had a stellar day, and are excited to take steps towards the mountain early tomorrow morning. By tomorrow evening, we will be in Kislovodsk, ready to launch to Elbrus Northside Base Camp, where the mountain adventure begins, and we leave the city life behind for a bit.
We are very much looking forward to it!
Best,
RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, JM Gorum, and team
Sounds like the trip is terrific, if a bit soggy. Have a safe climb - looking forward to hearing more. Have fun Ed!
Gayle
Posted by: Gayle Hutton on 8/8/2016 at 6:50 pm
Looking forward to reading the blog! Wishing all of you a terrific and safe climb.
Posted by: Gayle Hutton on 8/4/2016 at 9:33 pm
Wow, what a day! After waking at 3:30 am to leave the hotel we drove for a few hours only to wake to the sunrise and Salkantay Peak, 20,500 ft dominating the horizon.
After getting our gear rigged for the horses and porters the team started up a dusty road passing through small settlements above the Rio Blanco. 'Mountain Plush' is how I'll describe our living and eating arrangements due to our hard working local crew. Upon retiring from our dining tent during lunch, members of the team napped in the sun and gentle breeze before ascending the final stretch into camp.
We are currently camped beneath Salkantay at 14,500 ft with tent doors open and our feet hanging out enjoying beautiful views of the glaciers, seracs and fluted snow couloirs.
The team is doing great and sends their love to friends and family who are following along. Tomorrow we ascend to our high point of Incachiriasca pass, 16,010.
RMI Guide Mike King
Posted by: Mark Tucker
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Wonderful day of game viewing. Ngorongoro Crater was the place to be. We did fine work of observing and filming all day. Perfect weather had to be dealt with and thousands of animals needed to be filmed. We made you all proud back home with our drive and our drivers. Eric and Joseph maneuvered us around the crater rim to floor with ease and grace. Not to mention Michele presented us with yet another tasty lunch in the bush. A hippo downwind made a move in our direction getting out of the pond to check out the bill o' fare but please observe do not approach and or feed the wildlife.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
The Five Day Summit Climb team turned at Ingraham Flats this morning due to high winds with strong gusts up to 50 MPH. RMI Guide Sid Pattison and team have spend two days on Mt. Rainier, during that time they have experienced some light snow fall and windy conditions. The team will be starting their descent from Camp Muir at around 9 am this morning and arrive here at RMI Basecamp early this afternoon.
Congratulations to today's team!
Wow! What an awesome adventure the team has been on this week! So glad all of you are safe.
Posted by: Olivia Young on 8/3/2016 at 8:41 am
The Mt. Rainier Summit Climb, led by JJ Justman, made the decision to turn early this morning. With winds gusts reaching 50 mph and new snow, the team spun at Ingraham Flats (11,200'). Safe and sound back at Camp Muir, they will eat some breakfast before the begin their descent back to Paradise.
Glad to hear all are safe- hoping your climb, though shortened, was still a great adventure!
Posted by: Nan Slone on 8/3/2016 at 11:31 am
Glad you are safe and sound.
Posted by: Marcie McGuire on 8/3/2016 at 8:29 am
Posted by: Casey Grom, Billy Nugent
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Elbrus Southside
Well we had a really nice last day in Russia yesterday. We began the day meeting with our tour guide, Galina, and headed out on a quick tour of St. Petersburg. We stopped off at St. Nicholas Church, stopped by the grand St. Isaac's Cathedral and made our way to the famous Heritage Museum. Not having a ton of time to see the thousands of exhibits so we did and express trip to see the highlights, which included a few paintings and sculptures by Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt, and other great artist. It was pretty amazing to see so much art in one place and everyone enjoyed the brief visit.
We took a short break before meeting back up with our tour guide for a evening canal tour via boat of this historical city, which was a great way to wrap up a wonderful trip.
That's all for this trip! The team heads home tomorrow. Thanks for following us.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
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This was pretty much the most fun I’ve ever had doing anything. I thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to end, and I am happy I got to share this experience with such a great group of people. To the guides: I am thoroughly impressed by your professionalism, knowledge and patience. If I could have you guys on every climb I do going forward, I would.
Posted by: Michael Tamburello on 8/16/2016 at 8:56 am
Way to go, team. Thanks to everyone for making last week’s trip such a success.
I enjoyed meeting and getting to know all of you. Please look me up if you are ever in San Jose or Silicon Valley more generally.
Hats off to our guides for their professionalism, patience, sense of humor and motivational skills! You guys are a class act.
Posted by: Scott Henderson on 8/9/2016 at 6:36 pm
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